The Road Island Diner is a classic Art Deco diner car restaurant in the remote mountain city of Oakley, Utah in the United States. It was prefabricated as diner #1107 in 1939 at the Elizabeth, New Jersey factory of the Jerry O'Mahony Co. After construction, it was displayed on exhibition at the 1939 World's Fair in New York.[1] After the Fair, It was sold to Al McDermott who towed it to Fall River, Massachusetts where it operated for 14 years. In 1953, it was sold to Greek immigrant Tommy Borodemos, who had it transported down the turnpike to Middletown, Rhode Island, where it was known as Tommy's Deluxe Diner.[2] It closed its doors in May 2006 and was purchased in 2007 by Utah businessman, Keith Walker, who transported it to Oakley, Utah.[3] After a year of restoration, it was opened in July 2008. It is the only pre-war, Art-deco streamline (constructed to mimic a rail dining car) diner west of the Mississippi River.[citation needed] Often said to be the Cadillac of diner companies, The Jerry O'Mahoney Diner Company of Elizabeth, New Jersey motto was "In our line, We lead the world" was said to have produced 2,000 diners from 1917 to 1941 with only three pre-war Art-Deco streamline style diners to still be in operation. The smalller Mickey's Diner in Saint Paul, Minnesota which is the first diner to be listed on the National Historic register of places and Collin's Diner in Canaan, Ct.
References
- ^ Francis, Jennifer (July 29, 2008). "Retro diner a big hit in Oakley". Deseret News. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Salit, Richard (July 10, 2007). "After 53 years here, diner heads to Utah". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Brown Malouf, Mary (October 2008). "Neon in the mountains: Road Island Diner". Salt Lake Magazine. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
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